History Lesson
by Odeena Sabnach
Summary: The past, present and future of Nosgoth collide in a single, timespanning adventure, where unforeseen twists and turn await at every turn. AU, will turn slightly cyberpunk in future chapters. Please review!
1. So, ever done time traveling before?

_**Author's note:** waves Guess who's back from the dead! This idea has been playing in my head for a while now, ever since I started playing Soul Reaver again. This is an AU, alternate timeline partly inspired from Crazy Dragon's 'Consumed Light II' story. No major spoilers. Story is set in pre-SR time, several decades after Kain raised the six lieutenants and before vampiric domination over Nosgoth was fully established. _

_**Disclaimer: **Last time I checked, I didn't own Legacy of Kain or related names characters, places etc. On the other hand, I do own the idea for this story, Sai, Marissa, the laptop I typed this on and Billy. Who's Billy? You'll find out soon enough._

**HISTORY LESSON**

** A Legacy of Kain spinoff adventure by Odeena Sabnach **

**Chapter I: So... ever done time traveling before?**

"So... ever done time traveling before, or is this your first time? I bet it's your first time. I could tell from the way you staggered when you walked out of the portal and you looked all 'I'm-gonna-barf' like. _I_'ve done this tons before. In fact, I was there when they first used the trans-temporal drive back last year and I don't mean to brag, but I was actually one of the first subjects to ever go through. They sent us back in time like, ten minutes or so, but it was still a heck of a ride. I couldn't believe it when I met... me. Picture it, coming out of a portal, feeling your insides wage Great War Two deep down, and them coming face to face with yourself. I freaked, I really did. And then there was this one time--"

The 'partner' I'd been assigned to was loud as day. I did my best to ignore him as I double-checked the equipment we had. My wrist computer, holo-cam and trackback device all seemed to be in good working condition. The display of my laser gun flickered worse than a 31st century holo-display, but it was still useable. Last but not least, the 'counter-vampire' kit was complete. A mirror, several silver steaks, a somewhat old-fashion UV lamp and a can of garlic spray, all brand new and within warranty. Packed with all that, it was very less likely we'd have any trouble with the vampires of this time - especially if they were as frail as the tales portrayed them to be. Then again, we _were _back several thousand years. It was only wise to assume that the small amount of data we possessed was highly inaccurate.

It was the first time for the Center to attempt a travel across such a great time span. Time traveling was no easy thing. The generators required to power up a portal ate up a gigaton of quasi-fluid with each use and it took around a standard day for them to recharge before a portal could be re-opened. Maintaining a portal was hazardous in itself. The generators had given in more than once before a travel could be completed, leaving the subjects stranded somewhere in time. We'd lost several team members that way.

"Everything OK?" my 'partner' inquired, cocking his head to one side and arching an eyebrow. "You weren't listening."

"My gear seems to be fine, how about yours?" I retorted flatly, ignoring his last statement.

"All's well, I guess... So, we're off sightseeing now, right?"

"Not just yet. First, we have to confirm that we're in the right time and place. My computer says it's May 15, 711 AK. Are we on the same wavelength here?"

Sai checked the display of his own wrist computer. "May 15, 711... yep, we're clean."

"'Kay... The portal is scheduled to re-open in the exact same place, twenty-seven hours from now. I'd say we've got plenty of time to look around. Still, we shouldn't wander too far o--what are you doing?"

Sai lowered his holo-cam and arched an eyebrow again. "I'm taking your picture, ain't it obvious?"

"_No_ taking my picture." For a bodyguard, Sai sure was annoying. It made me wonder how he'd landed the job in the first place. Then again, _his_ cyber-upgrades were state of the art. Some colleague had told me once that this guy could lift up a transporter without even breaking a sweat. I was highly skeptic about that. "Just... shoot around, if you have to, but not with me in the frame."

"So what am I supposed to shoot then?"

"I don't know... the... sky? Birds? Clouds? We sure don't see such clouds in our time."

"How about that nice lil' vampire standing right behind you?"

I didn't move a muscle, even though I knew Sai was right. There _was_ someone standing behind me, and from the shadow he cast on the ground, I deduced he wasn't - couldn't have been - human. The pointy ears were proof enough. How he'd appeared behind me without either me or Sai noticing it was a mystery. Then again, the vampires in our time could move at dazzling speed. It looked like their race hadn't evolved as much as they would have liked us to believe.

I reached for the first object on my belt, which incidentally happened to be the can of garlic spray. "Hello", I said, turning slowly until I came face to face with the person standing behind me. I hadn't mistaken his nature; he was definitely a vampire. "Um... we come in... peace?" It was the first line that had popped into my mind. _Cheesy_, I growled inwardly. Sai would mock me for days.

The vampire hardly looked like the tall, dark and brooding creatures I'd gone used to coming across in my own time. His skin was white with a near imperceptible hint of blue, his eyes were sky-blue, and - most importantly - his expression was one of genuine curiosity. "You're not... human, are you?" he asked.

Behind me, Sai snorted. "What gave us away, our good-natured 32nd century charm?"

The vampire sniffed the air tentatively. "You smell differently. And your clothing is... different from anything I've ever encountered. Are you from overseas?"

"Well, we're... sort of, yes", I said, glaring meaningfully towards Sai out of the corner of my eye. We'd agreed that he'd let me do the talking. There was no point in giving out more information than was necessary. _We're from nearly two thousand years into the future. _Who'd be crazy enough to believe us?

"You sure dress differently from the people here in Nosgoth", the vampire said with a meaningful glance. "What materials do you use?"

_Self-adjusting thermo-isolating plug suits with embedded chips for monitoring vital functions and emotion levels. _"It's a special kind of... silk. Very rare."

"I... see. So, you're some sort of royalty then?"

"She is", Sai cut in from behind me. "Heir to the throne, no less."

"Heir to the throne...?" I reiterated, turning towards Sai and feeling a burning need to whack him over the head with something hard and spiky. Then, noticing the vampire's expression, I added, "You weren't supposed to _tell_ anyone. I _shall_ have you punished for that." Great Matrix, how cheesy that had sounded. Nonetheless, Sai caught the hint. He bowed and pursed his lips together, as if trying to say, _I won't say anything more, you're on your own_.

"If so, then you need to readjust your clothing. With that, you will definitely stand out, no matter where you go. I can take you to the Sanctuary of the Clans and give you something more... fitting."

Sanctuary of the Clans. I'd read about it in the ancient history books. Some archaeologists even claimed they'd dug out its ruins. I didn't believe that.

"Of course, as my guests, no-one will question your place of origin. You will be absolutely safe. I guarantee it."

We'd run into some sort of vampire noble, then. Things were getting... interesting. How far was this vampire to be trusted? It didn't really matter. Armed as we were and with Sai's out of the ordinary strength, we could take on any opponents. "Very well then. Take us there. Oh, and I'm doc--I mean, the name's Marissa of...' I did some quick thinking, then dismissed everything with a shrug. "Marissa of Korath. The big guy here is my guard, Sai."

The vampire bowed just slightly. "It is an honor. And I am Rahab."

Rahab. The legendary vampire lord, first ever in history to have attained immunity to water. His bloodline was among the oldest and most respected in my time. That aside, Rahab was rumored to have started the great Abbey library, which had been destroyed by a flood and later rebuilt and expanded at the beginning of the second industrial revolution. Some of the Abbey manuscripts had endured throughout the centuries, and copies of them were being studied in any university. My jaw dropped. Sai scratched the back of his head and shrugged at my reaction.

"Well then, shall we proceed?"

I shook out of the daze brought on by the revelation and gestured for Sai to come along. Sai discreetly noted our coordinates on his wrist computer and nodded. Together, we followed this childish vampire who would later on become one of the most prominent cultural figures in ancient history.

_**Second AN: **I'd love to know what you think of my story. Should I continue? Review (it takes but a minute) and don't forget to pester Eidos about making a new LoK game eventually. Evil, evil Eidos... grumbles _


	2. Who are you?

_**Author's note:** Second chapter up! wipes forehead You know, real life can be a real b. Why I say that? Well... sometimes it offers you a multitude of very tempting choices, and sometimes it offers you no choices at all, and no matter what the case is, you find yourself thinking that you could've picked something else or found some other way. I know that doesn't make much sense. My mind is in tatters right now._

_Back to the story. This is an AU, alternate timeline partly inspired from Crazy Dragon's 'Consumed Light II' story. No major spoilers. Story is set in pre-SR time, several decades after Kain raised the six lieutenants and before vampiric domination over Nosgoth was fully established._

_Review responses at the end of the chapter. _

_**Disclaimer: **Last time I checked, I didn't own Legacy of Kain or related names characters, places etc. On the other hand, I do own the idea for this story, Sai, Marissa, the laptop I typed this on and Billy. _

**HISTORY LESSON**

** A Legacy of Kain spinoff adventure by Odeena Sabnach **

**Chapter II: Who _are_ you? **

We'd been walking for about half an hour now, and there was still no sign of any civilization, much less the famed Sanctuary of the Clans. Sai had finally stopped talking and had resorted to whistling some cheerful tune - which was, given the circumstances, much less annoying than his previous yapping. Meanwhile, I silently went through the brief conversation I'd had with Rahab earlier. I suspected that me and my highly annoying (but nonetheless necessary) 'partner' were about to uncover facts that would bring about several changes in the ancient history we all thought to know. For instance, according to what I'd read, Rahab had started his famous library more than three hundred years after the time period me and Sai had been transported to. Historians had concluded that he had been born a few decades before that - and yet, there he was, here and now, leading the way and glancing back every know and then to makre sure we still followed. Unless we had run into a different Rahab. Still, this one lived at the Sanctuary of Clans, so he was unmistakeably the son of Kain, the infamous vampire ruler that had all but obliterated all human life in Nosgoth. Or so the stories told.

"So, what is the purpose of your visit here?"

I snapped out of my thoughts with a start. Rahab had stopped and was looking at us questioningly. "That's... um..."

"Classified", Sai cut in, and for once I was glad to hear him talk. "Secret", he added at Rahab's puzzled expression. "Diplomatic, that is."

"We _just_ want to assert the current state of affairs here", I cut in. "Nothing big. And _you_ shall not speak out of place", I added, glaring daggers at Sai. I had a feeling his big mouth was very likely to bring trouble at some point.

Sai bowed a little. "Yes ma'am. Um. I mean, your highness."

The vampire arched an eyebrow. "Still, you have travelled a long way. Are you to make any contact with my father?"

Fortunately (although such an assertion was highly questionable), before I could think of a decent answer, Sai suddenly whirled around, his laser gun armed and ready. I hoped for the sake of sanity that it was still set on stun mode. I sure as heck didn't feel like answering why we had 'accidentally' wiped out the great-great ancestor of whoever and consequently their entire bloodline to the day.

"'Smatter?" I asked, reaching for my own gun at the same time.

"We ain't alone."

"Oh." So we were finally getting close to civilization. Well, sort of.

" Better stay back, this could get messy. I've got them on track, whoever they are. I just..."

"Oh no. You're not splattering anyone's brains around on my watch, mister. Stun only, remember?"

Sai adjusted his gun with a sigh. "You're no fun", he grumbled silently.

Rahab had been watching the whole exchange with a puzzled look on his face. More puzzled than before, anyway. "What is that... device? Can it kill?"

_Oh, sure it can. It can zap a one-and-a-half inch chip in free fall from fifty feet away. _"Yeah. Sort of."

Sai let his shoulders drop a little bit and he holstered back his gun. "He's gone. Scanners not picking up anything any more."

"...Good." Something struck me as odd though. "Um... Sai? What scanners?" From what I remembered, the only type of equipment matching the notion was a motion-tracking device. Still, neither me nor my 'partner' had been issued one.

"You're slow," was Sai's only comment as he nonchalantly started down the path we'd been following earlier. "C'mon."

"...slow?! Hey wait a min--" Then it hit me. It had all been a bluff. Sai had realized that the conversation with the vampire was taking a wrong turn and had set up some sort of a diversion. Maybe he wasn't as dumb as I thought. "On second thought, yeah, let's go. Stay on-guard and if you see anyone, zap'em. Uh. I mean, stun'em. And I don't think you should be leading the way."

"...Oh."

"As for contacting your father," I picked up as we resumed our walking, "I'm not sure. We can't stay too much, after all. There are other places to see and other people to meet. Not to mention our... um, ship will set sail soon." Or something similar, anyway, if you could compare a ship with a trans-temporal warp gate.

"I... see." Suddenly, the vampire stopped and frowned. "All right, tell me the truth. Who are you?"

_**Author's Note II: **3v1l cliffhanger, yay! xD And now, for the review responses:_

_**Soultail Omega-Light**: Heyyy, it's been ages! glomp bearhug Sounds like you've had an interesting adventure, too... time travelling can be so much fun, can't it:) Oh, and Rahab is my fave pre-SR guy, too. _

_**littlevamp**: Thanks for the review. Yep, I tried writing something different. More action coming up starting next chapter. I hope :)_

_**Azura Soul Reaver**: Updated :) Happy reading!_


End file.
